American Exceptionalism

[ViseGrip]

Im interested in knowing which nation has done more to help other nations than the US. Sure, we've made mistakes in the past, so feel free to make it a net assessment.

[ctc]

Hard to say.  If family wasn't the limiting factor I would look into the Bahamas or perhaps Cayman Islands.

Good call on the Cayman Islands.  They are now doing capitalism much better than the US.  They don't have all the ridiculous regulations.

[heelpick]

I would go to the Cayman's for the diving and nice weather.  Granted there is the hurricane risk but natural disasters are a risk just about anywhere.

[Ray Brinzer]

Im interested in knowing which nation has done more to help other nations than the US. Sure, we've made mistakes in the past, so feel free to make it a net assessment.

We have a very big cup, and we definitely deserve credit for the half that's full.  There aren't too many other nations which have done more to screw with other nations' affairs, either; "we've made mistakes" understates the matter dramatically.  We're definitely the exception to most rules; if that was consistently good, we'd be the shining city on a hill that we ought to be.

[mspart]

I misquoted myself upon a second reading.  Let me fix that:

Where is the breadbasket of the world?  Where do most all the major ideas and innovation come from?  America is exceptional.  I might be an idiot but there's a reason we have the Statue of Liberty, the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution etc.  There's a reason people clamor to get here.  Even in the 1600's and 1700's, it was recognized that life was much better in America than anywhere else, at least from a European standpoint.   

mspart

[ViseGrip]

Im interested in knowing which nation has done more to help other nations than the US. Sure, we've made mistakes in the past, so feel free to make it a net assessment.

We have a very big cup, and we definitely deserve credit for the half that's full.  There aren't too many other nations which have done more to screw with other nations' affairs, either; "we've made mistakes" understates the matter dramatically.  We're definitely the exception to most rules; if that was consistently good, we'd be the shining city on a hill that we ought to be.

USSR, Germany, Japan, UK, France, Italy...  all the way back to the Roman Empire and before.  All powerful nations "screw" with other nations. I would maintain that given our power, we didnt use it as aggressively as most if not any of the others. Keep in mind, we dont know the world wouldnt be in worse shape if we didnt. Or yes better if we didnt, but I believe the net result of our "meddling" has been positive.

[ctc]

Im interested in knowing which nation has done more to help other nations than the US. Sure, we've made mistakes in the past, so feel free to make it a net assessment.

We have a very big cup, and we definitely deserve credit for the half that's full.  There aren't too many other nations which have done more to screw with other nations' affairs, either; "we've made mistakes" understates the matter dramatically.  We're definitely the exception to most rules; if that was consistently good, we'd be the shining city on a hill that we ought to be.

Nope, there is always the envious.

[a guest]

Not sure if this is off topic or not, but:

The first time I was living overseas, I lived in Australia. During that time,there was an essence that if any Aussie did something remarkable (win an Oscar, earn a gold medal at the Olympics, win a Nobel, etc.) then the feeling was "Our Kate Blanchet won the Oscar." or "Our very own Dr. Smith was given the Nobel for inventing 'spay on skin'."

There was a sense of pride when their own citizens do well outside of their country. The same was true in other countries I have lived in.

In the US, we don't get the same sense of pride when one of our own succeeds on the global scale.  It's almost as if it is expected that we are to be the best at something.  Does it make us complacent? Does it make us less prideful as a nation if we are expected to succeed?

If there is such as a thing as "American Exceptionalism," has it made us actually less proud of our fellow citizens?

I wonder if we need a new "Moon Landing" to get us all jazzed up again.

[TobusRex]

Patriotism is your conviction that this country is superior to all other countries because you were born in it. George Bernard Shaw

'


Hmmm...that sounds familiar for some reason.